i am a new owner of a 1981 hobiecat 18. i used to sail hobiecats as a kid. i currently live in Rosarito beach, Baja CA, Mexico and am not sure whether to put it on the beach by la fonda hotel in la mision beach or launch it from marina in salinas which is only afew miles south or launch it from marina in Ensenada. anyone have experience with this region. also, i plan to trailer it over to the sea of Cortez side starting at San Felipe. any input on that region and where are some great sailing locations with good access and good wind and time of year etc...

Surf launches can be difficult, especially with onshore wind. The marinas can be good, but I am not familiar enough with this marina to give advice. We used to sail south of Ensenada at Campo La Jolla near La Bufadora. The small surf here can make sailing out easier. San Felipe has good sailing. When launching, make sure to look for overhead wires. Sailors have died here because they didn't look up. Step you mast after the boat is on the sand and you will avoid the wires, de-step prior to bringing the boat to the trailer. One more note, San Felipe has extreme tides so look to the local (San Felipe specific) tide tables before planning your trip to look for days when the tide is High in the middle of the time you want to sail. Launch as the tide is coming in, land before it goes out. Otherwise you have a long way to drag it back up. You will need a good set of beach wheels and a group of friends in either case as the beach is steep. and don't drive out on the low tide flats for any reason. Seen it done many times with stuck 4WD trucks being swallowed by the incoming tide.

San Felipe has some waterfront campgrounds that are nice to stay and sail from. But yes the tide can be an issue as mentioned above. There was a mid-winter Regatta there for years, not sure if it still is going on. If I recall it was Feb timeframe shortly before the Baja 1000.